II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1520 

To expand recreational fishing opportunities through enhanced marine fishery 

conservation and management, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10, 2017 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. NELSON, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

MANCHIN, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To expand recreational fishing opportunities through enhanced marine fishery conservation and management, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF4 ERENCES. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 

7 2017’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

9 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 

Sec. 101. Process for allocation review for South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

mixed-use fisheries. 

Sec. 102. Alternative fishery management. 

Sec. 103. Study of limited access privilege programs for mixed-use fisheries. 

Sec. 104. Rebuilding overfished fisheries. 

Sec. 105. Modifications to the annual catch limit requirement. 

Sec. 106. Exempted fishing permits. 

TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY INFORMATION, RESEARCH, AND 

DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 201. Cooperative data collection. 

Sec. 202. Recreational data collection. 

1 (c) REFERENCES TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS

2 FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Ex3 cept as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act 

4 an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 

5 amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

6 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

7 or other provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con8 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

10 (a) RECREATIONAL FISHING.—Section 2(a) (16 

11 U.S.C. 1801(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(13) While both provide significant cultural 

14 and economic benefits to the Nation, recreational 

15 fishing and commercial fishing are fundamentally 

16 different activities, therefore requiring management 


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1 approaches adapted to the characteristics of each 

2 sector.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 2(a)(3) (16 

4 U.S.C. 1801(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) Commercial and recreational fishing con6 stitute major sources of employment and contribute 

7 significantly to the economy of the Nation. Many 

8 coastal areas are dependent upon fishing and related 

9 activities.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON13 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con14 gress’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

16 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means any 

20 Regional Fishery Management Council established 

21 under section 302 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

22 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 1852). 

24 (3) LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PROGRAM.— 

25 The term ‘‘limited access privilege program’’ means 


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1 a program that meets the requirements of section 

2 303A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva3 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853a). 

4 (4) MIXED-USE FISHERY.—The term ‘‘mixed5 used fishery’’ means a Federal fishery in which two 

6 or more of the following occur: 

7 (A) Recreational fishing. 

8 (B) Charter fishing. 

9 (C) Commercial fishing. 

10 TITLE I—CONSERVATION AND 

11 MANAGEMENT 

12 SEC. 101. PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW FOR SOUTH 

13 ATLANTIC AND GULF OF MEXICO MIXED-USE 

14 FISHERIES. 

15 (a) STUDY OF ALLOCATIONS IN MIXED-USE FISH16 ERIES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall enter 

18 into an arrangement with the National Academy of 

19 Sciences to conduct a study of South Atlantic and Gulf 

20 of Mexico mixed-use fisheries— 

21 (1) to provide guidance to each applicable 

22 Council on criteria that could be used for allocating 

23 fishing privileges, including consideration of the con24 servation and socioeconomic benefits of the commer25 cial, recreational, and charter components of a fishVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 Jul 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1520.IS S1520

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1 ery, in the preparation of a fishery management 

2 plan; 

3 (2) to identify sources of information that could 

4 reasonably support the use of such criteria in alloca5 tion decisions; and 

6 (3) to develop procedures for allocation reviews 

7 and potential adjustments in allocations. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 an arrangement is entered into under subsection (a), the 

10 National Academy of Sciences shall submit to the appro11 priate committees of Congress a report on the study con12 ducted under that subsection. 

13 (c) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION REVIEW AND ESTAB14 LISHMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 

17 thereafter, an applicable Council shall perform a re18 view of the allocations to the commercial fishing sec19 tor and the recreational fishing sector of all applica20 ble fisheries in its jurisdiction. 

21 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a review 

22 under paragraph (1), an applicable Council shall 

23 consider, in each allocation decision, the conserva24 tion and socioeconomic benefits of— 

25 (A) the commercial fishing sector; and 


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1 (B) the recreational fishing sector. 

2 (d) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE COUNCIL.—In this 

3 section, the term ‘‘applicable Council’’ means— 

4 (1) the South Atlantic Fishery Management 

5 Council; or 

6 (2) the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

7 Council. 

8 SEC. 102. ALTERNATIVE FISHERY MANAGEMENT. 

9 (a) MANAGEMENT.—Section 302(h) (16 U.S.C. 

10 1852(h)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

12 and inserting a semicolon; 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para14 graph (9); and 

15 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(8) have the authority to use alternative fish18 ery management measures in a recreational fishery 

19 (or the recreational component of a mixed-use fish20 ery) in developing a fishery management plan, plan 

21 amendment, or proposed regulations, including ex22 traction rates, fishing mortality targets, harvest con23 trol rules, or traditional or cultural practices of na24 tive communities; and’’. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall 

3 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

4 summarizing the alternative fishery management meas5 ures each mixed-use fishery plans to implement under sec6 tion 302(h)(8) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con7 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(8)), 

8 as amended. 

9 SEC. 103. STUDY OF LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO10 GRAMS FOR MIXED-USE FISHERIES. 

11 (a) STUDY ON LIMITED ACCESS PRIVILEGE PRO12 GRAMS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Ocean Studies 

15 Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engi16 neering, and Medicine shall— 

17 (A) study the use of limited access privi18 lege programs in mixed-use fisheries, includ19 ing— 

20 (i) identifying any inequities caused 

21 by a limited access privilege program; 

22 (ii) recommending policies to address 

23 the inequities identified in clause (i), such 

24 as— 


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1 (I) referenda that cover all par2 ticipants and sectors in the fishery be3 fore establishment, not just the com4 mercial sector participants; 

5 (II) auctions or lotteries for 

6 quota assignment in lieu of free quota 

7 transfers; 

8 (III) limited duration of access 

9 privileges with periodic auction to as10 sign quota ownership; 

11 (IV) mandatory sector allocation 

12 analyses prior to quota assignment; 

13 and 

14 (V) compensated reallocation 

15 plans to allow allocations to shift as 

16 demand and demographics shift; and 

17 (iii) identifying and recommending the 

18 different factors and information a mixed19 use fishery should consider when design20 ing, establishing, or maintaining a limited 

21 access privilege program to mitigate any 

22 inequities identified in clause (i); and 

23 (B) submit to the appropriate committees 

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1 paragraph (A), including the recommendations 

2 under clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (A). 

3 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

4 under paragraph (1), the Ocean Studies Board shall 

5 consider, at a minimum— 

6 (A) the community impacts of assignment 

7 of quota to only one sector; 

8 (B) the disenfranchisement in the manage9 ment process of a sector not assigned quota; 

10 and 

11 (C) the loss of public resource rent. 

12 (b) TEMPORARY MORATORIUM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), there shall be a moratorium on the sub15 mission and approval of a limited access privilege 

16 program for a mixed-used fishery until the date that 

17 the report is submitted under subsection (a)(1)(B). 

18 (2) EXCEPTION.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 

19 Council may submit, and the Secretary of Commerce 

20 may approve, for a mixed-use fishery that is man21 aged under a limited access system, a limited access 

22 privilege program if such program was part of a 

23 pending fishery management plan or plan amend24 ment before the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (3) MANDATORY REVIEW.—A Council that ap2 proves a limited access privilege program under 

3 paragraph (2) shall, upon issuance of the report re4 quired under subparagraph (a), review and, to the 

5 extent practicable, revise the limited access privilege 

6 program to be consistent with the recommendations 

7 of the report or any subsequent statutory or regu8 latory requirements designed to implement the rec9 ommendations of the report. 

10 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

11 section may be construed to affect a limited access 

12 privilege program approved by the Secretary of 

13 Commerce before the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 104. REBUILDING OVERFISHED FISHERIES. 

15 Section 304(e)(4)(A) (16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(4)(A)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) specify a time period for rebuilding 

18 the fishery that— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall be as short as possible, tak20 ing into account the status and biology of 

21 any overfished stock of fish, the needs of 

22 fishing communities, recommendations by 

23 international organizations in which the 

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1 action of the overfished stock of fish within 

2 the marine ecosystem; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) except where management meas4 ures under an international agreement in 

5 which the United States participates dic6 tate otherwise, shall not exceed— 

7 ‘‘(I) 10 years; or 

8 ‘‘(II) the sum of the time in 

9 which the affected stock of fish is ex10 pected to surpass its maximum sus11 tainable yield biomass level in the ab12 sence of fishing mortality, and the 

13 mean generation of time of the af14 fected stock of fish;’’. 

15 SEC. 105. MODIFICATIONS TO THE ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT 

16 REQUIREMENT. 

17 (a) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS.— 

18 Section 302 (16 U.S.C. 1852) is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(m) CONSIDERATIONS FOR MODIFICATIONS TO AN21 NUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT REQUIREMENT FOR

23 CERTAIN DATA-POOR FISHERIES.—Notwithstanding 

24 subsection (h)(6), in the case of a stock of fish for 

25 which the total annual catch limit is 25 percent or 


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1 more below the overfishing limit, a peer-reviewed 

2 stock survey and stock assessment have not been 

3 performed during the preceding 5 fishing years, and 

4 the stock is not subject to overfishing, a Council 

5 may, after notifying the Secretary, maintain the cur6 rent annual catch limit for the stock until a peer-re7 viewed stock survey and stock assessment are con8 ducted and the results can be considered by the 

9 Council and its scientific and statistical committee. 

10 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION FOR MULTISPECIES COM11 PLEXES AND MULTIYEAR ANNUAL CATCH LIMITS.— 

12 For purposes of subsection (h)(6), a Council may es13 tablish— 

14 ‘‘(A) an annual catch limit for a stock 

15 complex; or 

16 ‘‘(B) annual catch limits for each year in 

17 any continuous period that is not more than 3 

18 years in duration. 

19 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this subsection shall be construed as providing an 

21 exemption from the requirements of section 301(a) 

22 of this Act.’’. 

23 (b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 304 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1854) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(i) INTERNATIONAL OVER2 FISHING.—’’ and inserting ‘‘(j) INTERNATIONAL

3 OVERFISHING.—’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (j)(1), as redesignated, by in5 serting ‘‘shall’’ before ‘‘immediately’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) STOCK SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS.—Not later 

8 than 2 years after the date that the Secretary receives no9 tice from a Council under section 302(m), the Secretary 

10 shall complete a peer-reviewed stock survey and stock as11 sessment of the applicable stock of fish and transmit the 

12 results of the survey and assessment to the Council.’’. 

13 SEC. 106. EXEMPTED FISHING PERMITS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before the approval and issuance 

15 of an exempted fishing permit under section 600.745 of 

16 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

17 regulation, the Secretary of Commerce shall— 

18 (1) direct a joint peer review of the application 

19 for the exempted fishing permit by the appropriate 

20 regional fisheries science center and State marine 

21 fisheries commission; and 

22 (2) certify that the Council or Federal agency 

23 with jurisdiction over the affected fishery has deter24 mined that— 


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1 (A) the fishing activity to be conducted 

2 under the proposed exempted fishing permit 

3 would not negatively impact any management 

4 measures or conservation objectives included 

5 within existing fishery management plans or 

6 plan amendments; 

7 (B) the social and economic impacts in 

8 both dollar amounts and loss of fishing oppor9 tunities on all participants in each sector of the 

10 fishery expected to occur as a result of the pro11 posed exempted fishing permit would be mini12 mal; 

13 (C) the information that would be collected 

14 through the fishing activity to be conducted 

15 under the proposed exempted fishing permit will 

16 have a positive and direct impact on the con17 servation, assessment, or management of the 

18 fishery; and 

19 (D) the Governor of each coastal State po20 tentially impacted by the proposed exempted 

21 fishing permit, as determined by the Secretary, 

22 has been consulted on the fishing activity to be 

23 conducted. 

24 (b) DURATION AND RENEWAL.—Beginning on the 

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1 mit issued under section 600.745 of title 50, Code of Fed2 eral Regulations, or any successor regulation— 

3 (1) shall expire at the end of the 12-month pe4 riod beginning on the date the exempted fishing per5 mit is issued; and 

6 (2) may be renewed in accordance with this sec7 tion. 

8 (c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Except for subsection 

9 (b)(2), nothing in this section may be construed to affect 

10 an exempted fishing permit approved under section 

11 600.745 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, before 

12 the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 TITLE II—RECREATION FISHERY 

14 INFORMATION, RESEARCH, 

15 AND DEVELOPMENT 

16 SEC. 201. COOPERATIVE DATA COLLECTION. 

17 (a) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 

18 Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND ANAL21 YSIS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of enactment of the Modernizing Rec24 reational Fisheries Management Act of 2017, the 

25 Secretary shall develop, in consultation with the 


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1 science and statistical committees of the Councils es2 tablished under section 302(g) and the Marine Fish3 eries Commissions, and submit to the Committee on 

4 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen5 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

6 House of Representatives a report on facilitating 

7 greater incorporation of data, analysis, stock assess8 ments, and surveys from State agencies and non9 governmental sources described in paragraph (2) 

10 into fisheries management decisions. 

11 ‘‘(2) NONGOVERNMENTAL SOURCES.—Non12 governmental sources referred to in paragraph (1) 

13 include the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) Fishermen. 

15 ‘‘(B) Fishing communities. 

16 ‘‘(C) Universities. 

17 ‘‘(D) Research and philanthropic institu18 tions. 

19 ‘‘(3) CONTENT.—In developing the report 

20 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) identify types of data and analysis, 

22 especially concerning recreational fishing, that 

23 can be reliably used for purposes of this Act as 

24 the basis for establishing conservation and man25 agement measures as required by section 


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1 303(a)(1), including setting standards for the 

2 collection and use of that data and analysis in 

3 stock assessments and surveys and for other 

4 purposes; 

5 ‘‘(B) provide specific recommendations for 

6 collecting data and performing analyses identi7 fied as necessary to reduce uncertainty in and 

8 improve the accuracy of future stock assess9 ments, including whether such data and anal10 ysis could be provided by nongovernmental 

11 sources, including fishermen, fishing commu12 nities, universities, and research institutions; 

13 ‘‘(C) consider the extent to which it is pos14 sible to establish a registry of persons collecting 

15 or submitting the data and performing the 

16 analyses identified under subparagraphs (A) 

17 and (B); and 

18 ‘‘(D) consider the extent to which the ac19 ceptance and use of data and analyses identi20 fied in the report in fishery management deci21 sions is practicable.’’. 

22 (b) NAS REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Sec23 retary of Commerce shall take into consideration and, to 

24 the extent feasible, implement the recommendations of the 

25 National Academy of Sciences in the report entitled ‘‘ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 Jul 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1520.IS S1520

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1 view of the Marine Recreational Information Program 

2 (2017)’’, including— 

3 (1) prioritizing the evaluation of electronic data 

4 collection, including smartphone applications, elec5 tronic diaries for prospective data collection, and an 

6 Internet website option for panel members or for the 

7 public; 

8 (2) evaluating whether the design of the Marine 

9 Recreational Information Program for the purposes 

10 of stock assessment and the determination of stock 

11 management reference points is compatible with the 

12 needs of in-season management of annual catch lim13 its; and 

14 (3) if the Marine Recreational Information Pro15 gram is incompatible with the needs of in-season 

16 management of annual catch limits, determining an 

17 alternative method for in-season management. 

18 SEC. 202. RECREATIONAL DATA COLLECTION. 

19 (a) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Section 

20 401(g) (16 U.S.C. 1881(g)) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para22 graph (5); and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish a partnership with a State to de3 velop best practices for implementing the State 

4 program established under paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall de6 velop guidance, in cooperation with the States, 

7 that details best practices for administering 

8 State programs pursuant to paragraph (2), and 

9 provide such guidance to the States. 

10 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Secretary 

11 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

12 Congress and publish biennial reports that in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(i) the estimated accuracy of— 

15 ‘‘(I) the information provided 

16 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

17 paragraph (1) for each registry pro18 gram established under that para19 graph; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the information from each 

21 State program that is used to assist 

22 in completing surveys or evaluating 

23 effects of conservation and manage24 ment measures under paragraph (2); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) priorities for improving rec2 reational fishing data collection; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) an explanation of any use of in4 formation collected by such State programs 

5 and by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(D) STATES GRANT PROGRAM.—The Sec7 retary shall make grants to States to improve 

8 implementation of State programs consistent 

9 with this subsection. The Secretary shall 

10 prioritize such grants based on the ability of the 

11 grant to improve the quality and accuracy of 

12 such programs. 

13 ‘‘(E) FUNDING.—A portion of the funds 

14 made available through the Saltonstall–Ken15 nedy Grant Program under section 2 of the 

16 Saltonstall–Kennedy Act (15 U.S.C. 713c–3) 

17 shall be provided for implementation of this sec18 tion.’’. 

19 (b) ACTION BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.—The 

20 Secretary of Commerce shall— 

21 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of en22 actment of this Act, enter into an agreement with 

23 the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate, in the 

24 form of a report, whether the design of the Marine 

25 Recreational Information Program, for the purposes 


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1 of stock assessment and the determination of stock 

2 management reference points, is compatible with the 

3 needs of in-season management of annual catch lim4 its under section 303(a)(15) of the Magnuson-Ste5 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

6 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)), including whether in-season 

7 management of annual catch limits is appropriate 

8 for all recreational fisheries; and 

9 (2) not later than 180 days after the date the 

10 Secretary receives the report under paragraph (1), 

11 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

12 recommendations regarding— 

13 (A) changes that could be made to the Ma14 rine Recreational Information Program to make 

15 the program compatible with in-season manage16 ment of annual catch limits and other require17 ments under section 303(a)(15) of that Act for 

18 those recreational fisheries for which in-season 

19 management of annual catch limits is appro20 priate; and 

21 (B) alternative management approaches 

22 that could be applied to recreational fisheries 

23 for which the Marine Recreational Information 

24 Program is incapable of providing data at the 

25 level of accuracy and timeliness necessary for 


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1 in-season management of annual catch limits, 

2 consistent with other requirements of this Act. 

Æ 


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